HEADLINES

Charles Johnson (WR)

Extra Points: Lions, Saints, Vikes, Chiefs

September 8th, 2016 at 8:50pm CST by Zachary Links

Second-year man Ameer Abdullah is atop the Lions’ depth chart at running back, but they won’t rely on him as a workhorse, according to head coach Jim Caldwell (via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com). “Do I think that he’s durable enough to do it? Absolutely,” Caldwell said. “Do I think he’s strong enough to do it? Absolutely. I just don’t think that’s his cup of tea.” Abdullah, a second-round pick last year, averaged 4.2 yards per carry on 143 attempts as a rookie, but he didn’t eclipse the 16-rush mark in any of his 16 appearances. He’s also coming off shoulder surgery that limited him throughout the offseason, as Meinke notes. Pass-catching specialist Theo Riddick and another second-year player, Zach Zenner, are among the Lions’ other backfield options.

More from around the NFL on opening night of the 2016 season:

  • Saints head coach Sean Payton says that he preferred cornerback Sterling Moore to Cortland Finnegan because he’s better in man coverage and a younger player, as Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets. The Saints signed the 26-year-old Moore on Tuesday after releasing Finnegan, 32. Payton isn’t sure how much Moore will help in Week 1 against Oakland, but the coach likes his versatility, intelligence and short-area quickness (Twitter link via Josh Katzenstein of NOLA.com).
  • Vikings wide receiver Charles Johnson has changed representation, hiring agents Jonathan Perzley and Brian Mackler of Sportstars NYC, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.
  • A pair of free agents – defensive end Rufus Johnson and outside linebacker/DE Sadat Sulleyman – worked out for the Chiefs on Thursday (Twitter links via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle). Johnson, whom New Orleans took in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, made his first career appearance last season as a member of the Patriots. Sulleyman, undrafted this year from Portland State, didn’t survive the Broncos’ final cuts. He worked out for the Bengals on Wednesday.
  • There was no shortage of big news Thursday: Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets; the Steelers inked guard David DeCastro to a massive contract extension; and five-time Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch hasn’t closed the door on returning to the league.
  • In case you missed it, the PFR staff weighed in with its 2016 NFL predictions Thursday.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC North Notes: Greenway, Johnson, Jeffery

December 25th, 2015 at 7:15pm CST by Rob DiRe

Luke Adams took a look at some top stories from around the NFC North earlier today, but a few more notes come across the wire worth sharing.

  • Before the season, Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway wasn’t sure whether or not 2015 would be his last season. Now he is sure of his decision, but he hasn’t told any teammates or reporters, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. “I’ve told a bunch of people but not (a reporter) or anybody else that’s in this locker room,” said the 10-year veteran. “I’ve decided, but you guys (the media) don’t know yet.”
  • Tomasson also looked at the future of Charles Johnson in Minnesota. Johnson was a key receiver down the stretch last season, but has lost his starting spot to rookie Stefon Diggs and has only nine catches this season. Next year will be the last year of his rookie contract, and with a decreased workload he might find a better situation elsewhere if the Vikings release him this offseason.
  • Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery will miss his sixth game of the season this week against the Buccaneers, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. He has only 54 catches for 807 yards this season, after going over 85 and 1,000 each of the past two seasons. He will be heading into free agency this offseason, seeking to be paid like a top-NFL wideout. However, a big money contract or even the franchise tag would be a lot to pay for a receiver who has struggled with injury and consistency.

NFL Quotes: Raiders, Pryor, Vikings, Packers

June 25th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Ben Levine

With OTAs finished, it’s been relatively slow in the NFL world (luckily we have the Tom Brady saga to distract us temporarily). Even with a lack of news, various beat reporters have still been able to come away with some excellent sound clips, and we’ve compiled those for you below…

Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave on team’s offense (via Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com):

“We made some strides, but we have a long way to go. That’s probably the understatement of the year. … We have our moments, but we have to be much more consistent. I think we all recognize and acknowledge that. That will be our goal, of course, going up there to training camp so we can get good in a hurry.”

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel on Terrelle Pryor‘s quest to become a wideout (via WHBC in Canton, Ohio; quote via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com):

“If anyone can, he can. He certainly has tremendous athletic ability and a passion to help wherever he can be helpful. So if anyone can do it, he can. And, he could be the bonus of, he can be the team’s third quarterback, and that way they only have to carry two, which gives you a chance to have one more good player on special teams or whatever else. So I think he could be a bonus.”

Vikings wideout Charles Johnson on his job security (via Master Tesfatsion of the Minneapolis Star Tribune):

“In this business, you’re never secure. You never want to lie down and say, ‘Hey, I made it.’ I’m always working, and we’re always working together. Nobody here has been handed anything, and we’re just ready to come out here and work and become the best players we can be.”

Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari on his interactions with Aaron Rodgers (via Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin):

“I didn’t really talk to Aaron. I was like, ‘If he speaks to me, I’ll speak to him.’ If he didn’t speak to me, I didn’t want to go up to him unless he wanted to engage in a conversation.”

Minor Moves: Saturday

September 20th, 2014 at 4:53pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ll keep tabs on all of Saturday’s NFL transactions here, with the latest moves at the top…

  • The Lions have cut veteran wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, reports Field Yates of ESPN (via Twitter). The move opened up room for practice squad cornerback Mohammed Seisay, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
  • The Raiders have signed linebacker Bojay Filomeatu from their practice squad, reports Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • The 49ers have promoted tight end Asante Cleveland to their active roster, reports Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). The team released quarterback Josh Johnson to make room.
  • The Dolphins have signed safety Brandian Ross from their practice squad to the active roster, reports James Walker of ESPN (via Twitter). They released defensive lineman Bruce Gaston to make room.
  • The Ravens have cut wide receiver Deonte Thompson, and signed running back Fitzgerald Toussaint from their practice squad, according to the team’s official Twitter page.

Earlier updates:

  • The Vikings announced that they have signed wide receiver Charles Johnson from the Browns practice squad. Johnson will take Adrian Peterson‘s spot on the roster.
  • The Lions will sign cornerback Mohammed Seisay from their practice squad, tweets Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press.
  • Joe Person of The Charlotte Observer tweets that the Panthers have promoted running back Darrin Reaves from their practice squad to take Greg Hardy‘s roster spot.
  • The Cowboys announced (via Twitter) that the team has waived defensive end Lavar Edwards and signed linebacker Keith Smith from the practice squad. Edwards, a former fourth-round pick, was acquired from the Titans in late August. He’s only played 15 snaps in two games this season. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com tweets that the release does not void the trade with Tennessee, noting that the Cowboys have to give up a seventh-rounder if Edwards stays on the roster for ten games. However, Archer also notes that Edwards will likely be back.
  • The Jaguars have signed wide receiver Kerry Taylor from their practice squad, the team announced. To make room, the team waived rookie safety Craig Loston. Taylor has 22 career receptions for 229 yards and one touchdown. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union tweets that Taylor is injury-insurance for wideouts Cecil Shorts and Allen Hurns.

11 PS Players Earning More Than The Minimum

September 5th, 2014 at 5:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Players on NFL practice squads are eligible to receive a minimum salary of $6,300 per week, which works out to a 17-week salary of about $107K if a player remains on his team’s practice squad for the entire season. In most cases, teams don’t pay more than the minimum to fill those practice squad spots, since clubs have much more leverage than the players vying for those 320 total openings.

In some cases though, if a team really likes a player, or if he’s drawing interest from several teams for their practice squads, a club will increase that weekly rate. So far this year, with all 32 teams having filled up their 10-man squads, at least 11 players are known to be receiving salaries worth more than the minimum. NFL writer Brian McIntyre rounded up all those players and their salaries for us in a series of tweets, so let’s check out the full list, sorted by weekly salary:

Magee’s practice-squad salary is the most notable on this list — his weekly figure adds up to just below $495K for the full season, which is the minimum salary for a second-year player on an active roster. In other words, if he spends the entire season on the practice squad, Magee could still earn more money than some players on active rosters, which is a sign of how much the Bucs want to keep him around.

Practice Squad Updates: Monday

September 1st, 2014 at 6:33pm CST by Luke Adams

We rounded up the first wave of practice squad additions in a series of posts by division yesterday, which you can check out on our Transactions page. Several more teams have announced new practice squad players today, or made slight changes to their units, so we’ll round up that news right here:

6:33pm:

  • The 49ers have filled out their practice squad by adding cornerback Chance Casey and running back Kendall Gaskins, the team announced in a press release.

4:37pm:

  • The Browns have added wide receiver Charles Johnson and offensive lineman Karim Barton to their practice squad, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Twitter).
  • Cornerback Khalid Wooten will be the 10th man on the Titans‘ practice squad, tweets Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

4:07pm:

  • The Seahawks have added defensive end Julius Warmsley and defensive back Josh Aubrey to their practice squad, tweets Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
  • The Redskins have finalized their practice squad by adding safety Akeem Davis and linebacker Chaz Sutton, the club announced today (Twitter link).
  • Cornerback LeQuan Lewis has been added to the Jets‘ practice squad, according to the team (via Twitter).

2:46pm:

  • The Rams have finalized their practice squad by adding linebacker Denicos Allen, wideout Emory Blake, safety Christian Bryant, and quarterback Garrett Gilbert, per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (via Twitter). That means Michael Sam isn’t among the 10 players on St. Louis’ squad.
  • The addition of Henry Josey to the Jaguars‘ practice squad has officially been announced by the team in a press release. We had noted below that although his signing had been previously reported, Josey wasn’t among the first list of names released by the club.
  • The Ravens have announced the signing of offensive lineman Marcel Jones to their practice squad, tweets Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.

1:31pm:

  • The following players are now on the Browns‘ practice squad: James Brown, OL; Jacobbi McDaniel, DL; Emmanuel Ogbuehi, TE; Keith Pough, LB; Justin Staples, LB; and Patrick Lewis, C. The first five names are listed on the team’s official site, while the addition of Lewis was reported by Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
  • Alex Gillett‘s time on the Packers‘ practice squad didn’t last long — he was replaced today by cornerback Jumal Rolle, tweets Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
  • The Buccaneers have signed safety Kimario McFadden, cornerback Derrius Brooks, and linebacker Carlos Fields to their practice squad, according to the team’s official site.
  • Katherine Terrell of the New Orleans Times-Picayune provides the last few names to be added to the Saints‘ practice squad: safety Pierre Warren, guard Antoine McClain, nose tackle Lawrence Virgil, and tight end Nic Jacobs.
  • The Eagles have signed quarterback G.J. Kinne for their practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • Fullback Nikita Whitlock is the latest addition to the Cowboys‘ practice squad, the team announced today.
  • The Vikings filled the final spot on their practice squad by adding cornerback Chris Greenwood, says Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
  • Defensive end Zach Thompson is now on the Broncos‘ practice squad, according to the club.
  • The Chiefs filled the final opening on their practice squad by signing defensive tackle Hebron Fangupo, reports Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (via Twitter).
  • Wide receiver Freddie Martino and tight end Kyle Miller have joined the Falcons‘ practice squad, per the team’s official site.
  • One more housekeeping note: Yesterday, running back Henry Josey and fullback Kiero Small were reported as having joined the Jaguars‘ and Browns‘ practice squads, respectively. However, when those teams announced their PS rosters, those players weren’t included. There haven’t been any reports indicating those agreements fell through, so we’ll keep an eye on both situations. For now though, we won’t be including those players in our master list of practice squad rosters, which will be published this afternoon.

Sunday Transactions: AFC North

August 31st, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions are noted below.

Additionally, as of 11:00am CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. For the 2014 and 2015 seasons, changes were made to practice squad rules that allow teams to carry eight players instead of 10, and the eligibility requirements for those extra two spots were also loosened. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.

Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:

Baltimore Ravens:

Cincinnati Bengals:

Cleveland Browns:

Pittsburgh Steelers: